1. Field of the Invention:
The invention is directed to an improved end guard section for a cutterbar.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A typical harvesting platform is provided with an elongated cutterbar assembly for cutting a standing crop. The cutterbar comprises a steel angle support bar, a series of sickle guards, a knifeback, a series of knives and a series of holddown clips. The sickle guards are mounted to the support bar. Each of the guards are provided with a channel in which the knifeback is slideably positioned. In addition, each guard is provided with a slot having ledger plates into which the knives are slideably positioned. A series of triangular knives are bolted to the knifeback. The holdown clips are bolted to the angle bar and extend forward over the knifeback into contact with the knives for holding the knives against the ledge plates of the sickle guards. The cutting edges of the knives and the ledger plates cooperate to shear the standing crop.
Traditionally the knife sections are secured to the knifeback by rivets. To facilitate field replacement of the knife sections, bolts are now used to secured the knives to the knifeback, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,363. The knifeback is provided with a series of round holes through which the mounting rivets or bolts are inserted. The assembler needs full access to both sides of the knifeback to secure the knife sections to the knifeback. Strength of the hardware used in wider and wider platforms is becoming a problem due to the increased loads.
It should be noted that round headed square necked bolts, also known as carriage bolts, is known hardware.
Sickle guards are provided with a slot into which the knife sections are slideably received. The slot is provided with ledger plates which cooperate with the knife sections to cut the standing crop, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,095. Traditionally holdown clips are positioned between the sickle guards and are mounted to the support bar. An adjustment mechanism at the rear of the of the holdown clip controls the vertical position of the clip relative to the knife sections, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,012,891 and 4,644,738. U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,079 discloses a cutterbar having a holdown washer located directly behind the sickle guard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,712 discloses a sickle guard having a slot defined by an upper lip which is provided with a holdown screw for directly contacting the knife sections to hold them against the ledger plates.
Traditionally the left end of the knifeback is the drive end of the knifeback and is coupled to a wobble box which reciprocates the knifeback back and forth. The right end is the non-drive end and extends past the end of the machine.